Tval

skincare & cleaning cosmetics

151 Water St., St. John's or order online

Tval - creating simple, high-quality, eco-friendly soap, and cosmetics

Tval is the kind of soap business that produces local, ethical, handmade, vegan, all-natural, and fragrance-free skincare products. It is a special thing: you go in (see all the colours) and you look through all the shelves of goods that holds pretty much everything in skincare needs – soap (bar, liquid, and in the shape of cupcakes), shampoo, bath bombs, bubble bath, moisturizers, toners, and makeup to name just a few of their main products.

Everything on the shelves of Tvål was handmade by Anna Hellqvist and Jason and Bobby Bailey.

who's Anna Hellqvist and Jason and Bobby Bailey?

Before Tvål, Anna Hellqvist made soap as a hobby in Sweden. When she moved to Newfoundland with her partner, Jason Bailey, he prompted the opening of their own soap business. In 2003, the couple founded Tvål in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland. They named their business: Tval (“soap” in Swedish - and in proper spelling the a is like this 'å') .

They chose the name because the simplicity of that name is reflective of the simplicity of their recipes.

A little after Tval opened its doors, Jason’s brother Bobby left a career with a well-known makeup company in Toronto and moved home too - where he reunited with his brother, and the rest was history. Anna Hellqvist and Jason and Bobby Bailey joined forces and combined their incredibly diverse experiences to make Tvål the high-quality, handmade skincare business it is today.

small batches of handmade, quality skincare products

Though a small company, Tvål is committed to staying true to its business values.

An example of their values in action: is their dedication to making small batches of soap and their other products. The small batches allow the Tvål crew to maintain quality control over all their finished products by making them in small batches to ensure that each creation is made with love, extreme care, and natural ingredients.

Tvål is a good reminder of why it is better to choose high-quality products. The recipes they develop are simple, but the crew has high standards for their soaps.

ethical, zero-waste soap

To make their soap 'green' - Tvål is constantly looking for ways to make their products more environmentally friendly. They are a zero-waste company by: 

  • using packaging that is 90% recyclable
  • using glass over plastic wherever possible
  • they fill the stations in their shop for shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, etc.

And for the health of our water systems and the living things in them, Tvål sells eco-friendly, all-natural laundry soap - no microplastic glitter!

Most importantly, Tvål offers vegan, all-natural, and fragrance-free options to their customers that want to use ethical, zero-waste soaps, cosmetics, and more!

soap community

When the opportunity arises, Tvål hosts events like yoga classes, clothing store pop-ups, and a stop for the Lawnya Vawnya music crawl to help their local community. 

In the future, they see even more involvement in the community, continuing to innovate, researching to make their products more eco-friendly, and continuing to craft their high-quality products in small, careful batches of soap.

As Tvål always says, “life’s too short for bad soap”!

other stories about Tvål

Tvål refillable shampoo, soap, and conditioner station
beautiful stone and window building Tvål downtown St. John's
rows of different coloured Tvål bath bombs
customer purchasing refillable bottle of conditioner at Tvål checkout
Tvål refillable shampoo, soap, and conditioner station
beautiful stone and window building Tvål downtown St. John's
rows of different coloured Tvål bath bombs
customer purchasing refillable bottle of conditioner at Tvål checkout